Lucky Black Cats
by EmbraceYourInnerUnicorn
Summary: I thought I was perfectly safe, miles away from the alien invasion of NYC. Like every other human on earth, I was glued to the live coverage on TV. Unlike every other human on earth, I was soon to be Loki's hostage...and his love at first sight...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**SAM'S POV:**

The TV screamed the news on the currently-happening invasion. It was a superhero movie come to life outside my window. Aliens crawled over everything in the city; men in tights were running everywhere. It felt like it was almost fantasy as I sat and watched the action unfold. I was in no danger; I lived hours away from the heart of the invasion. Or at least I thought I was safe. That's the thing about safety, you could be thrown into the safest sanctuary and could still be in harm's way, but be in a dangerous situation with a dangerous person, and feel completely safe. As I contemplate this idea, I see a man dash past my window. It startles me (mostly because I live in the middle of nowhere). My curiosity gets the best of me and I sneak out the back door of my house and stealthily creep along the side of the wall.

"KNEEL!" someone yells behind me. My heart skips a beat.

Shaking, I fall to the grass. Even though I'm terrified, I look up. He seems just as scared I as am. I'm not sure who he is, but I feel bad for him. He's dressed like he's been pulled out of a Greek mythology book. Wait, but isn't the villain from the invasion a Greek god? Yeah, he was. He said his name was,

"Loki?" I ask.

He thrusts a golden scepter at me and I black out.

**LOKI'S POV:**

I think she's dead. Good. Stupid mortals and their stupid homes. This is not the place I want to be. There's an invasion that I need to lead and that's taking place somewhere in the far-off city. How am I to find my way now? Just as I start to walk away, the mortal girl moves. I'm the one kneeling now. She obviously wasn't dead; she tackled me.

"Get off!" I command.

"Never!" she bites back. Her fist is tugging my hair.

I roll over. She's pinned now. Roughly, I grab her arm and drag her behind me. I walk for a minute, gripping her arm despite the struggle she's giving.

"Take me to the city, mortal," I snap.

"Nice to meet you too," she says sarcastically.

"Fine. I'm Loki of Asguard, god of mischief, and I'm burdened with glorious purpose."

"I'm Sam of New York, goddess of nothing, and I'm burdened with my love for food."

"That's disgusting. Now, take me to the invasion."

"I don't know how to get there!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

"Someone's cranky! I can use my GPS if we can go back to my car. And I want to get my cat."

"Cat?"

"Yeah, Ki. Can I call you Ki?"

"No. And fine. Just get me to the city."

"Then you'll let me go?"

"No! I need a hostage."

She rolls her eyes. Her eyes are gorgeous. Midguardians aren't supposed to look like her.

"Are you Midguardian?"

"Yes...?" she says, confused.

Oh well. We trudge back to her house. I don't hold her arm now. She isn't going anywhere. I can just tell. She steps up into her home.

**SAM'S POV**

"Just wait here." I tell the man standing behind me.

I should make a run for it, but I can't. Something is holding me to my promise.

"Cat! Get over here!"

He comes running. Yeah, I named my cat, Cat. Go ahead and judge me. I scoop him up and attach his lead to his collar. He's all black, but he's anything but bad luck. He's a sweetheart. I love him. After he's safely tucked under my arm I grab my car keys and step into the garage. My car is unlocked and I hop in. The garage door rumbles open. Loki's standing right outside the door, leaning against the wall, looking like some kind of super model.

"You coming?" I question. He just stands there, staring at me.

Then he sort of shakes his head and wakes up. He jumps into the passenger seat and commands me to drive. I punch the directions in and hit the gas. His frame dug into the seat, and his hand grips mine desperately.

"Come on, I'm not that fast." I laugh.

He still looks terrified.

"What!?" I snap.

"The-the cat!" He screeches. Cat is curled up on his lap and kneading his thigh.

"Wow. He likes you, settle down!" I tease.

He tenses up more, and his grip on my hand tightens. His eyes bore into me. He's terrified, and I feel bad for teasing him now.

"Sorry," I say, peeling Cat off of him. I had stopped the car by now and he seems on edge again.

He looks almost hot, you know… As hot as an alien can be. I've never experienced love at first sight before, and I'm sure I shouldn't be in love with a criminal, but there's something undeniable about him. Like he's completely misunderstood and just needs a friend. He's like a little boy playing war with his toys on a grand scale. He wants a playmate. I wouldn't forgive myself if he got away without me trying.

**LOKI'S POV:**

I'm Asuardian. I'm Loki, the rightful King of Asguard! I don't love; I kill. I'm not supposed to love, especially if the object of this "love" is mortal! I take my hand away from Sam's. _No, nope, never._ I say that over and over to myself. I don't believe in love at first sight, or love at all. But I _can_ feel something right now; as if destiny's calling. Like my purpose, my glorious purpose is to love this Midguardian. But she's my hostage. She's angry. She doesn't care about me. She probably hates me.

"Sam."

"Yeah?"

"Are you engaged emotionally with another Midguardian?" I stutter, the words coming quick without thought.

"No, I'm single." She laughs. "Which means I'm not."

"That's great."

"Not really. It's mighty lonely out in the middle of nowhere." Her smile fades. "How about you? Any special goddesses?"

As she turns on the radio, I explain that I'm "single" as well. Some kind of Midguard chant comes on. It sounds odd and the words are talking about something foreign, but that's what is taking over me. Love. Without any thought, I put my hand on Sam's knee. I don't know why, or what caused me too, but I did. She looked at me with a smile and continued driving.

**LOKI AND SAM'S POV:**

"I think I'm in love with you." We both say.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

**SAM'S POV:**

His eyes searched mine for some sign of anything. I tried to hide the emotion bubbling in my chest and the smile brimming over my lips. Although I thought I hid my feelings well, he saw through me like glass. His lips curl into a grin, flashing his crystal white teeth.

"Er…Well.." I mumble, not really knowing what to say.

"Stop." The word tumbles out of his mouth rudely.

I pull the car to the side of the highway. Small and large cars zoom past our now parked vehicle. Judging on Loki's keen ability, I'm guessing they kiss in Asguard. He had thrown himself at me, and usually it would've been awkward, kissing passionately after knowing him for roughly an hour, but with Loki, it just wasn't. The lip lock probably would've gone on longer, but Cat jumped on Loki's lap and scared him half to death. He pulled backwards swiftly and I snatched Cat away from him.

"Well then!" I laugh. "That was interesting." I say, fighting the now awkward atmosphere.

Just as he was about to say something, a police officer came up to our car. I rolled down the window.

"Hello ma'am. There's no park- Hey is that Loki!?" He says then yells.

Loki rips open the door and grabs my hand.

"Come on then!" he smiles and we run through the bushes to a large forest. Lucky for me, Cat followed and I secured him under my arm again.

"Are you crazy?! We just left my car there and. Whatever. Where to now, Master?" I say sngrily and saracastially.

"I locked your car before we left. Here's the keys." Loki repies cooly, handing my keys to me.

"How? What? Just… What!?"

"Don't ask. Now we have to walk. Come on."

"It'll take us ages!"

"Well what do you suggest!?" He yells.

My smile is devious, and honestly I think he liked it.

LOKI'S POV:

Sam drags me back towards the road. We run to an exit that takes us off to a gas station area. Motorcyles, cars, trailers, and bikes are all parked in scattered spots. She strolls straight up to a motorcycle and gets on her knees.

"Sam?"

"I'm hotwiring it."

I have no clue what that means. She takes the wires out of a box, and sticks them together and does some other stuff, I was too busy watching Cat to see, and the motor starts.

"Wow. Okay. Do you know how to drive this?" I ask her.

"Yeah! I learned when I was like six."

Holy Odin. That's pretty young to ride something crazy like this. Mortals these days. Sam straddles the bike and looks at me expectantly.

"Coming?" She grins, and I slide on behind her. I set Cat in the bag she has hanging off her waist.

"Stay there Cat. Stay!" she commands.

Cat lays down and Sam revs the engine.

"Hold on, Loki." She warns as we zoom away.

At first I doubt I need to hold onto the girl, but once we get started I'm holding on for dear life. And I don't even mind depending on her. When we kissed, it was… kind of magic. Like wizardry or something. It was great. I wonder if she felt it too. I hold her tighter.

**SAM'S POV:**

He's clinging to me like some kind of little boy. From the moment I met him, Loki has looked like a sad, broken, lonely and lost little boy. He needs a friend, and I don't know how, but I plan on being there with him through whatever he needs me too. If anything happens to him during this invasion, I would never forgive myself.

We go for another hour, and I determine a three hour drive is ahead of us. Desperatly, I pull over to an exit and park. I run inside and tell Loki to stay hidden. I hit the bathroom then grab food, due to the grumble in my stomach. I grab chips and some candies, but I don't know what Loki likes, so I just grab some random crap. I pick a bag of Cheetos for Cat, because he adores them. Weird, right?

I pay the man at the counter, who looks shockingly like Tony Stark, and run back to my companions.

"HEY! Stop it!" I scream.

The superheroes that were on my TV when I met Loki were grabbing him. They all turn around shocked.

"STOP!" I yell, running to Loki.

The snacks were thrown to the ground in my hurry to get to Loki.

"Move Midguardian." a large man in a cape says.

"Never! Scram yourself Asguardian!" I say, which causes Thor to draw back.

The counter man comes running out.

"What did I miss?" he questions. Tony Stark. Of course…

"Thor, ask nicely. Ma'am may you please move, we need to get this man from earth, he's making a big mess out of New York right about now." Captain America pleads.

"Sorry, Cap. He's kinda with me now." I grin, hopping on the bike and riding off.

"That was close!" I say loudly to Loki.

"Yeah!" He laughs as I make the bike go faster.

**MEANWHILE:**

"I can't believe she just did that!" Tony says.

"Come on Stark, we need to get them, and fast." Steve retorts.

"Stupid Midguardians. Loki has a mortal with him now. We can't touch it." Thor says sarcastically.

"JUST SHUT UP!" Bruce yells.

Clint and Natasha run up, panting.

"Did you get him?" they ask.

"No, now COME ON!" Steve says, loading back into the S.H.I.E.L.D. car.

**LOKI'S POV:**

That was amazing. She is like, super human! Sam just left the Avengers right there! What losers. Sam isn't stopping again, I'm sure, so I get comfortable and rest my head on her shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

**SAM'S POV:**

Loki's asleep on my shoulder now. I've moved his hands under mine on the handle bars to prevent him from falling off. Soon, I'm going to be asleep. I can't stay awake for the next hour that I need to be. I'd rather be asleep parked than moving, but this is so important to Loki I keep riding. Fifteen minutes later I can't stand to keep my eyes open. I pull off down an exit lane and find a motel.

WHOOSH!

Oh no. I ride as fast as I can away from the helicopter chasing us. Loki has woken up now and we are both terrified. His hands pull out from under mine and go around my waist again.

"STOP!"

"IN YOUR DREAMS!" I yell back to the Avengers above as we hit the brakes.

The helicopter keeps going as we turn around and enter a back road. We're out of sight in seconds.

"This is getting annoying." I tease, poking Loki in the knee.

He laughs. Loki has a beautiful laugh. I hadn't heard him laugh or giggle or anything before.

"You have a cute laugh." I state. I just don't think anymore do I?

"Uh.. Thanks?" he laughs again.

I can't fight the smile that creeps onto my face, just as I fall asleep.

**LOKI'S POV:**

"SAM!" I scream.

We're skidding down the road and Sam's asleep. How does she sleep!? I pull her up and jump off the bike. It slides down a steep hill that was just ahead of me and Sam.

"Sam wake up!" I yell.

She's passed out? How is she passed out?! Just as I start to freak out she opens her eyes.

"Ow."

"What?" I question, concerned.

"My leg. Holy cow." She says, a tear slipping down her pale face.

Blood is puddling around a large cut in her shin. She's in serious trouble. If anything happens to her I will die.

"Loki give up."

"What?!" I bark, whipping around.

The Avengers. Great. This is just what I needed with Sam out of commission.

"Loki run!" She screams.

"No!"

"JUST GO!" she commands me.

"I love you." I say as I run off."

**SAM'S POV:**

"Really!?" Tony says.

"Shut up." I growl.

Steve comes over to me and helps me up.

"Don't touch me." I hiss. Cat hisses with me as he limps along. I'm surprised he survived whatever just happened.

We're loaded into the chopper. By now I'm sobbing. My leg is throbbing and the pain is unreal. And now Loki is gone. I might never see him again.

"Sit." Someone tells me.

"No." I growl.

"Come on! He's gone! You can do what's best for you now!" Bruce says harshly.

Natasha comes over to my shaking sobbing self.

"Shut up you guys!" she bites.

She hugs me and helps me into a seat.

"Hey it's okay sweetheart, don't cry!" she soothes.

"No it's not okay! What if I never see him again!" I sob harder.

"He's a bad guy, darling."

"No he's not! You guys don't know him! Not even Thor. You guys are the bad guys. I don't want anything to do with you." I say looking away from the group and Natasha.

Speechless, she gets up and goes by the rest of the Avengers. Director Fury shouts something about them finding his location. It hits me. They found Loki.

**LOKI'S POV:**

I can't believe I left her. Now they're going to find me. I can hear the chopper above me and I don't hide. Why would I?

"Loki don't move or anything you know the drill." Tony says.

"Run!" Sam says before the cover her mouth and pull her further back into the plane.

"Sam!" I yell. I'm furious now.

I storm onto the helicopter and shove Tony into the wall. I grab Sam out of Steve's arms and cradle her in mine. The door is closed now. Sam looks up at me miserably.

"Sorry." She whispers. But she shouldn't be sorry.

**TONY'S POV:**

Loki and the Sam chick spend the whole ride making out. How does that girl even stand him?

**LOKI'S POV:**

Soon, we arrive at S.H.E.I.L.D.'s air craft. Guards charge onto the chopper we're on and load me off. Sam is left behind, but she chases after us. Thor grabs her and holds her back, only to have her slump onto the floor screaming for me. Usually, I wouldn't resist the guards, but now I do. They don't expect a thing. I easily break through their "wall" and dash back to Sam.

"I'm not leaving her." I growl.

"Ma'am, we need you to come with us." They order.

She takes my hand and we march off again.

"Don't let them hurt you." She pleads.

"Sorry, Sam." I say, gently kissing her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

**SAM'S POV:**

Loki is ripped from my hand and I cry again. The stupid agents don't care about him. They roughly shove him into a large glass prison cell. And then there's me, the outlier of the situation. No one knows whether to keep me captive because I'm a villain, or let me go because I'm a civilian. I guess they settled on keeping me, because they hand cuff me and leave.

"Yeah and this does what?!" I hiss. If they were trying to stop me from making a mess, they did a crappy job.

Now that we're unattended, I go over to the cell.

"This sucks." I say to Loki.

"Yeah.. It does." He replies, his face stolid.

"I'm really sorry." I mutter.

"Sam you have done nothing to be sorry about. In fact, you've done nothing to deserve this situation. Go tell them you are no threat and just leave." Loki says.

"I'm not going anywhere big guy." I smile.

"Now let me just do something about these cuffs." I grin, and swing my arms under my legs, bringing my shackled hands to the front of my body.

"Dang! These are mighty fancy." I laugh.

Sneakily, I dart over to the control panel that operated Loki's "bin" and my electronic handcuffs. I locate a release button and the cuffs fall to the floor.

"That was lucky." I giggle and look for the button that let's my lovely free.

Hmm. There's a drop button, a lock, a shut, another release. I take a chance and press the release. The door slides open.

"Yes!" I huff and run into the cell and hug Loki.

Then it shuts again. My face drops into an angry frown. If glares could kill, Fury would be dead by now.

"I figured you should be in there instead." He says plainly.

**LOKI'S POV:**

"Just let her go Fury." I order.

"No, sorry I can't. She's a threat now. As well as you. Call off the invasion." Fury says now with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"No, sorry he can't." Sam retorts.

I tuck her under my arm. The darling girl I'm still surprised loves me back is in captivity with me.

"I can't unless you let us go to the scene." I inform him.

"Whatever you need." Fury says rolling his eyes.

He stalks away, somewhat agitated, but I don't care. I don't even care about the invasion that I should be commanding. I'm just not who I was two days ago. It's silly, I know, but Sam's changed me. And now I can't imagine life without her.

"When this is all over, what's gonna happen?" Sam whines.

"If I get my way, I'll be the ruler of Midguard." I smile.

"Snazzy! So I get to be ruler-ette? What's a king without a queen right?" she giggles.

"Yeah, of course." I grin and hug the laughing girl.

Just then the Avengers barge in. They surround the cell.

"We're going." Steve barks.

Thor carefully approaches the door.

"Sam, we're going to make a break right past him, okay?" I whisper into her ear.

She nods and I take her hand. The door slides open, and we step to the back of the "cage".

"Don't play games, brother." Thor growls.

"TAG YOUR IT!" Sam laughs, as she taps Thor on our way past.

We made it out and found an exit.

"Now what?!" she says, excitement bubbling in her eyes.

"Jump!" I yell as we fall out of the plane.

Her scream is enough to curdle blood. The free-fall takes seconds, and we're approaching the water. I don't know whaat I was thinking. We hit hard, and her cry is hard for me to hear, but I scoop her up and we swim to the shore, which was actually not too far away. Well… not as far as it could've been.

"You're an idiot!" Sam gasps as she swims along side me.

"I know."

We swim until we can't move. The shore is so close now, maybe two yards away. I think about the fun we could have if we make it out of this alive. It inspires me to swim for the last yards, dragging Sam behind.

"That was fun." She pants, gasping for air.

"I think we have different ideas of fun, darling." I laugh and shove her a little.

Sam gets to her feet and helps me up. Staggering towards civilization, we talk and laugh and trip over our own feet. It's perfect. She's perfect. We're perfect, together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**SAM'S POV:**

I feel like our story's almost over. But it's not. He promised. We kept walking, talking, laughing, and I'm lost in the fun he brings my life. I've known him barely two days, yet I can't leave him.

"Wow. The city, we finally made it." I gawk.

It's in ruins, yet it's never seemed so alive. Terrifying creatures fly by and crawl everywhere. The Avengers are here now, I guess once we got away they had nothing better to do. Loki grabs my hand and we sneak behind buildings and up the Stark Tower, which amazes me.

"Introducing, the Teseract. That's what the Avengers want, and we have it." He explains.

Iron Man soars past us. I hope he didn't notice Loki holding his large golden scepter and calling a ride from an alien.

"Stay here." He tells me.

"Don't die." I tell him.

"I won't. Now go hide." He assures me.

He flies off into the fight, and I run and hide behind the bar. Tony storms up into the room. My breath catches in my throat, and my stomach is in knots.

"Hello?" he surveys the room.

Loki better be back soon.

"I know you're here Sam." He barks.

Dangit.

"Come out." He commands.

"Never." I whisper. CAN I JUST THINK FOR ONCE?!

He comes over and drags me out.

"Really." He hisses.

"Let me go!" I yell trying to escape his hold.

"Never, you're the only way to Loki and now I have you. You're not going nowhere." He laughs.

"LOKI!" I scream. I keep screaming his name, hoping he'll come find me.

**LOKI'S POV:**

Sam's screaming for me. That idiot. She was found. I turn around and dart back to the tower. Tony has Sam wrapped in his arms roughly. She should never be treated that roughly, and that boiled my anger. I storm in and go to rip her away, but Tony pulls back.

"Give her to me." I yell.

"Stop the invasion." He retorts.

I stand there in silence. What matters more to me, ruling Midguard, or Sam?

"Fine." I say grabbing my scepter.

Tony follows in awe. I lift my the point of my scepter to the edge of the teseract.

"I'll do it once you give her to me." I negotiate.

He pushes her to me and I wrap her under my arm as the teseract shuts down the portal.

"Loki fix it!" Sam cries.

"I can't." I mumble, tucking her closer to me.

"I'm so sorry Loki it's all my fault." Sam whines, starting to cry. I wish it would've worked as well, but she's more important now.

"Don't be. We've got our whole lives ahead of us now. We still have Asguard." I tell her, wiping a tear from her cheek.

**SAM'S POV:**

I feel horrible. If I would've just stayed hidden like he told me too the invasion would continue. But he said we have Asguard.

"Do I get to go with you to Asguard?" I ask.

"I'm not leaving you here." He replies. Good enough answer for me.

We stand awkwardly , stariing at Tony as he called the rest of his team.

Thor comes flying up, and the Hulk climbs to the balcony. Everyone else comes up the elevator. We're surrounded now. Loki cradles me protectively.

"What do you want?! We stopped it now leave us alone!" I screech.

"Us?" Thor questions.

"Yes us, brother. Problem?" Loki bites back.

Thor cowers back and Cap comes up to us.

"Loki is going back to Asguard, and who knows where you'll go in life once he's gone." He says.

"You're not leaving me." I tell Loki.

"Good because I'm not leaving without you." He says.

We're led to the bottom of the building and then loaded into the waiting chopper. Another chopper. Greaaaat.

Some kind of clamp was put over Loki's mouth. I resist it, pushing the men away from him. I plant myself in his lap. He holds me close, and I push the agents away from him. I remember biting one of them before blacking out.

**LOKI'S POV:**

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" I scream.

"She's just tranquilized." One agent says.

I hold Sam's practically lifeless frame.

"WAKE HER UP!" I order.

"Brother, settle down. You'll be gone soon anyway." Thor tried to comfort me.

"I'm not going anywhere without her."

"Unfortunately, you are." He says.

"NO I'M NOT." I yell.

"Be quiet, I'm trying to sleep." Sam whispers.

"Sam?!" I question, shaking her awake.

"Hey, handsome." She giggles.

"Gross." Tony blabs.

I shoot him a rude look and kiss Sam's head.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

**SAM'S POV:**

Still a bit drowsy from being tranquilized like some kind of animal, I stumble along behind Loki. They're sending him, Thor, and the teseract home. Cap is supposed to be in charge of me, but I have other plans. Loki's mouth is covered by that cursed metal thing. He and Thor hold onto the teseract and Thor nods. Loki would be screaming if it weren't for the clamp.

Just as they seem gone I jump away from Cap and touch the teseract.

"STEVE!" everyone yells, but I'm already gone.

The portal is closed and I'm stuck in Asguard forever. I suppose.

"How did you follow?!" Thor yells.

"I'm just mischievous. Now can you take that horrid thing off my boyfriend?" I laugh.

Thor unlocks the clamp and Loki laughs. And laughs and laughs.

"Great job, Sam." He smiles and kisses me.

"Thanks!" I giggle and stick out my tongue.

"Loki you have prison time ahead of you, what makes you think having her here is a good idea?" Thor announces.

"She committed a crime too!" Loki laughs.

"Nuh uh!" I squeak.

Loki clearly pays no attention to jail time and pulls me away from Thor.

"Want to take a tour?"

"Well duh!" I say.

We sort of skip along, Loki pointing out people and places. An older man catches my eye.

"Who's that?" I ask.

"Odin."

"Your dad?!"

"No!" he hisses turning sharply away.

My eyes widen and I untangle my fingers from his.

"I'm sorry. I've read about this, you're not Asguardian are you, Loki?"

He shoves me backwards and I fall to the ground.

"I'm Asguardian prince no matter where I've come from." He yells, anger bubbling over.

**LOKI'S POV:**

Sam is curled on the ground staring at me, looking broken. Thor runs out of nowhere and picks her up.

"You see Loki, you're absolutely mad! You can't handle having someone love you." He growls, and walks away with Sam.

It's over now. She doesn't love me anymore. But just as I'm at the breaking point, she pulls away from Thor and comes running back to me. She jumps into my arms and kisses me.

"There's nothing you can do to make me stop loving you." She promises.

"Good, because I'm a pain." I smile.

Of course, another kiss follows, and by now, Odin has noticed. All my friends and family come running out of the palace.

"Who's that and what is she wearing!?" Odin barks.

Of course we're paying no attention, we're still.. err.. making out.

"Loki?" Sif prods.

"What?" I say turning to her.

Sam stands in my arms still, looking satisfied.

"Are you going to introduce us to your friend?" she wonders aloud.

"Oh this is Sam."

"Sam? What kind of name is that?" she mocks.

"A very common name where I come from. And I'd sure like to call you a common name from where I come from, but I doubt you know what a female dog even is!" Sam says, pissed off now.

"Well then where do you come from, Sam?" Sif growls.

"Midguard."she huffs, proud that she remembers the word.

Gasps escape everyone. I laugh and Sam seems confused.

**SAM'S POV:**

"Uh, what?" I ask.

Loki explains that I'm technically not allowed in Asguard, and I laugh too.

"Well this is awkward." I utter into his ear.

"That's okay. There's so much we have to do, why worry about awkward?" he assures me.

His fingers intertwine with mine and I smile. So much has happened in two days. It's amazing how much this love we have means to me and to him, enough that I would sacrifice the whole life I had back home. As memories of home overwhelm me, I begin to worry.

"Loki can we talk?" I mumble, voice choked up on my own tears.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" he says a bit too loud.

All eyes turn to me and I hold my head up high. If I was going to cry at one point, I sure as heck wasn't now.

"Nothing!" I smile broadly and walk away.

I don't know where I'm going, but I walk with the sense that I do. Loki jogs after me.

"Sam what's wrong?" he pries.

"I won't ever see my parents again! Or my friends! What about my little brother!? My family is going to worry about me! All my things, everything I've worked for is back on earth! Even Cat is gone, after all we've been through. I didn't even notice he was gone. I hope he's okay." I cry.

Although I'm not letting myself cry, it's apparent that I want to. Loki wraps his arms around me and pulls something out of his pocket. A small cube, the color of the teseract. He grins and zaps it with his scepter. It expands and flows and bright light explodes around us. Suddenly, from the dancing blue light, Cat appears!

"Cat!" I squeal, cuddling the furry black cat.

"How did you even do that?!" I laugh.

"I'm not really sure, but something involving the teseract."

"I love you, Loki." I smile, kissing his cheek.

His cheeks turn bright red as he takes my hand. We trot along the edge of Asguard, laughing along to the sound of each other's voices. Loki's hand feels the phone in my pocket.

"What's this?" he asks, still walking.

"Oh it's just my phone. You use it to communicate with people. So if you had one, and I had one, I could either call you which is talking or text you which is typing." I explain.

"Fascinating." He says tucking it back into my pocket.

We walk longer still, until the worries of home, the worries of family all are behind me. Cat bounds alongside us, batting at puffs of cloud that wanders past him. I feel Loki slip something onto my finger. He looks at me with his gorgeous eyes and explains.

"Will you marry me?" he proposes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

**SAM'S POV:**

I'm overtaken with tingling sensation. Loki's on one knee, smiling from ear to ear. The gorgeous ring on my finger is of a black cat. My mind races, and heart thuds, but I say nothing.

"Sam? Sam are you okay?" Loki's eyes widen.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." I mumble.

He looks at me expectantly. He grabs my hand and fingers the ring.

"Where'd you get it?" I asked.

"Iron Man had it on is finger and as we left I might've stole it for you." He blushes.

"Oh Loki. You know we've only known each other for two days. Is that cause enough to get married?" I question.

"I-I thought you'd agree. We have something, right?" Loki stutters, looking broken.

I start to think. The way I mindlessly followed him when I could've escaped, or when I fought for him when his enemies were after him meant something. I wouldn't usually act impulsively like that. He's right. I love him more than anything.

"Yes. Yes Loki I will marry you." I smile, and he's overjoyed again. "But don't you want a trial date or something, to see if we actually work out as a couple?"

"Sure. Shall we?" He replies.

"That's not how it works. I need time to get ready, get pretty, you know?" I say, laughing at how little he knows about this.

"You're already beautiful." He gushes.

"Aww. Thanks. But seriously, I'm dirty and smelly and yeah." I tell him.

"Okay. I don't really know where you'll find a dress, but you might ask Sif. She's a girl." Loki states the obvious.

"Well she doesn't really like me." I counter.

"I can persuade her." He winks.

**LOKI'S POV:**

"Come on." I laugh, jokingly tugging her along.

As we walk back to Sif's place, we joking shove each other around. When we get there, I leave Sam outside.

"Come on Sif. Sam's a girl too! She's going to need a friend that's not me if she's going to live here. Could you just give her a chance?" I beg.

"Fine. But if she's anything like you, I will refuse to be her friend." Sif teases.

"Thanks." I say, motioning Sam inside.

She shyly tiptoes in, blushing and looking at the ground.

"Hi." She utters.

I exit the area as fast as possible to make it easier for girls to be girls. I wave goodbye to Sam and head off to tend to my own business. I'm off to Thor's, to beg and plead to not do prison, and for advice on my current situation with Sam.

**THOR'S POV:**

A sharp knocking on the door pulls me away from polishing my armor. I swing open the door, yet have the urge to shut it in my brother's face.

"What." I growl.

"I want to bargain my freedom." Loki says bluntly.

"No." I squeak.

"Thor, I want to get married. I want kids. I want a life! I can't spend eternity in prison! Don't you understand!? What about Jane? Remember?" He yells.

"You're not a citizen Asguard wants roaming!" I explain.

"She brings out the best in me, Thor. Can't you give me a chance?" Loki says, his heart breaking in front of me.

"One chance." I promise him.

"Thank you brother!" he cheers, embracing me.

"But one thing happens and you get prison forever, and Sam, well Sam is left alone, you understand?" I make myself clear.

"I understand." He says, smiling from ear to ear.

"Good. Now I must be back to shining my- To practicing my battle skills." I fib.

"Polishing you armor again?" Loki guesses.

"Yes, whatever." I laugh as he walks away.

**SIF'S POV:**

Sam is shyly sat across from me at the table. We've been talking for a few minutes, and she seems nice. But there's one undeniable detail about her. She's PERFECT for Loki.

"So Loki said you need help getting ready for your... um... date?"

"Yeah. Date. Right." She stutters.

"Don't be nervous. Loki's easier than he seems." I assure her.

"I don't know what Asguardians wear. Like on Midguard we wear little dresses and makeup and our hair curly and stuff, but judging on the fact that you just pulled a really long dress out of your closet I'm guessing that's what you wear here." She babbles on.

I laugh. She's slightly ridiculous.

"Haha, yes. Here, you can borrow this." I say, handing the dress to her. "You can change in here; I'll be in the hall."

**SAM'S POV:**

Sif is really sweet. I hope we'll become friends. Slowly, I figure out how to get into this dress. I tease my hair a little bit and step out of the room acting like a model, hoping to make Sif laugh.

"You look gorgeous!" She squeals.

"I do don't I?" I say sarcastically.

Sif laughs and drags me by the hand to what I think is her bathroom. She pulls out what I believe is eyeliner, but who knows here in Asguard.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Eyeliner." She explains.

Okay, I was right. She cautiously drags the tip along my eye. She drifts it out at the end, and the cold line makes me shiver. This should be fun.

"Thanks, Sif."

"You're welcome!" she smiles.

I'm going to be just fine here.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

**LOKI'S POV:**

The door to Sif's house swings open and Sif pushes me backwards.

"You can't come in! She'll meet you at dinner in a few minutes! Go get ready!" She giggles.

"Settle down, Sif! Okay tell her I was here." I laugh.

She slams the door and I can hear her bare feet trot down the hard wood floor. I head back to my home and change from my armor that's now stiff from the water and adventures back on Midguard. I laughed when I found fur tucked in weird spots on my clothes.

"Cat?" I call. I hadn't even remembered that he was here.

The black animal dashes up behind me. I was worried that I had lost him, but I guess he's smarter than I give him credit for. Kneeling, I stroke his matted and dirty fur. He needs to be washed. Sam and I can do that later. I decide that I look fine, and I stroll out the door after double checking that Cat had stayed inside.

I walk to dinner with a smile and the thought of Sam dancing around my mind. The large chair where I used to sit every night welcomes me and I cozy up into it. Distractions fill my eyes and mind until Sif tiptoes in.

"Sam's here!" she squeaks and dances away.

While I'm laughing at Sif's excitement, Sam strides in with a beaming smile. She looks like an angel and the raw sight of her draws me out of my seat. Her laugh fills the room, and she makes a joke about my awestruck face. The dress she's wearing hugs her body perfectly, and flows behind her like an ocean wave. Her face has been touched up, so the imperfections that I love have disappeared. Her hair is down, and looks cleaner than it has since I've known her.

"Loki? Are you alright?" Sam scurries over and puts her hand on my arm.

"You look amazing." I gush.

Sam's cheeks turn bright red and I kiss her painted lips.

**SAM'S POV:**

Loki can't get enough of me. I'm beaming sitting next to him. No guy has ever had a crush on me. I'm twenty four, and I've crushed on so many guys I've lost count, but I can't recall even one boy crushing on me. At least I think so… Anyways, Loki's hand is on my thigh and I'm laughing at him as he tells me about the stuff he saw on Earth with me.

"You're hilarious." I tease.

Loki rolls his eyes and stuffs some kind of bread into his mouth. I lean across the whole table trying to reach something that looks appetizing. By the time my hand finds it, I'm lying across the table, which I've since discovered is very cold. Loki laughs and I mockingly cross my legs on the table. I throw a grape at Loki and somehow he manages to catch it in his mouth. His hands fly into the air victoriously. I laugh and crawl back into the chair.

"This is going well. Right?" Loki prods.

"Yeah, of course silly!" I giggle.

He seems happy, and I grab some more food. Everything looks really good, but the dessert at the end of the table looks especially delicious. I slide over to it and take a piece of the cake like stuff. Loki doesn't seem to notice me stuff it violently into my mouth.

"So, since this is going well, does that mean we can talk about the wedding?" Loki asks.

"Sure?" I say, unsure of what's to happen next.

"So, from what I know about weddings, the dress is important, as well as the cake, and the decoration. Right?" Loki guesses.

"Yep. That's right." I laugh. He's really trying to be smart about this, I can tell.

My mind explores the ideas of a dress. My dream wedding dress was anything that was NOT white. White wedding dresses are so normal! s was anything that was NOT white. White wedding dresses are so normal! For anyone else, it's fine, but I've just always wanted a change.

"Can we have a dress that's not white?" I ask.

"The dresses are white on Midguard?" he asks back.

"Yeah. What color are they here?"

"Gold usually."

"Cool! Oh hey! Maybe we could do a mix of both kinds of dresses. Like a Midguard wedding dress top, that would be white, and a gold Asguardian bottom!" I squeal, excited about the idea.

Loki laughs at me.

"That sounds really cool, Sam." He assures me. "You just got so excited it was really funny."

"Okay. So what does the dress here look like?"

"How about we worry about this later? I don't know if you've noticed, but it's really late." Loki points to the window. The sky is darker than Cat.

He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. I can't help scooting closer to him as we walk out. The dark air chills me to the bone, and Loki's generating heat. He seems to notice the cold shiver shaking me and pulls me under his arm.

"I love you." He smiles, kissing my nose.

"I love you more." I protest, replying to his kiss with another.

How did I live without him?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

**LOKI'S POV:**

Sam is tucked under my arm, shivering. She's humming a song that I've never heard, probably because it was Midguardian. My hands pull her closer, which is really kind of hard because she is already pushed up against me. Sam smiles up at me and I kiss her lips, which are kind of turning blue.

"Are you really that cold?" I laugh.

"I have no sleeves. I'm pretty much frozen Loki." She retorts.

"Well, I'll race you home then we can warm up." I say, taking off.

"Not on my watch!" she giggles, dashing after me.

She gets a little bit ahead of me and I'm gutted. I run faster but she's still ahead. Deviously, I throw myself down and yell in "agony". Sam skids to a halt and comes back to me in a flurry.

"Oh my gosh are you alright!?" she squeaks.

I hold back a grin as she helps me up. Sam checks to be sure I'm fine, but before she can I run off.

"NO FAIR!" she yells and follows me.

I beat her by a longshot. She punches my arm and rolls her eyes and she walks inside. I wrap my arms around her waist and she looks up at me angrily.

"Brat. Where do I sleep?" she growls.

"I haven't thought about that." I confess.

She smiles. Sam doesn't seem to mind sharing a bed. Of course, neither do I. I rest my hands on her hips and gently guide her to my bedroom. Her smile cuts straight through me. As our lips meet, she falls back onto my bed. My heart flutters.

**SAM'S POV:**

This is either going nowhere good, or somewhere great. I'm not giving myself to him just yet. I do have morals, even if he's my future husband. But if he wants to sleep, and cuddle and kiss that sounds up to my speed. I'm fine with cuddling, especially because he's like a giant teddy bear.

His hands press into my hips and I give him a skeptical glare. It scares him off of me, but he kisses me anyway.

"Well hey there." I say as he pulls away.

"What?" he wonders aloud.

"Nothing. Bed time." I smile pushing him over.

His bed is really cool, if you ask me. It's like an in-ground pool, but it's a bed. So it's basically and whole, with linen on the sides and stuff, and a bed in the bottom of it.

"You're bed is really awesome!" I gawk.

"That's how most are. At least here in Asguard they are."

Then it hits me. I'm in a whole other realm. So much is different here. There's so much to see and explore and I'm going to bed! Enthusiasm chills me and I dash to the window to look outside. Loki runs after, almost worried.

"Can we go outside?" I beg.

"Why? It's freezing!" he squeals. He's shocked, and I want even more to go outside.

"Jackets? Winter clothes?" I cough.

"Still, why?" he says, curious.

"There's so much to see! Nothing's the same here! Maybe the eyeliner had metal in it, because I can't keep my eyes open. Who knows! Maybe there are unicorns!" I squeal in wonder.

"Are you kidding? You've never seen a unicorn!?" he gasps.

I just about have a heart attack. We slip into jackets and dance outside. The cold cuts to the bone, but I don't care. I sort of tip toe across the open area and dart towards civilization. The gorgeous golden structures shine in the light of what I assume is a moon, but you can never be sure.

"Wow." I gasp.

**LOKI'S POV:**

I don't understand why Sam is so thrilled. Of course I know she hasn't been off of Earth and all, but still. She hasn't seen a unicorn, and she's excited about the city.

"You're nuts." I laugh as she skips into the streets.

Sam doesn't notice; she just keeps on heading towards the city. She's enthralled in the wonder of seeing something new, and it screams beautiful. The awe she's exhibiting brings a smile to my face, so I run along after her. Our story might only be on chapter two, but it feels like forever ago was the first time we had kissed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

**SAM'S POV:**

The golden city invites me closer, but when I approach a large shimmering building, Loki halts. I glance back at him, and his eyes look hurt and I can feel his heart shatter. In an instant he's in my arms, tears dotting my shoulder. Loki didn't strike me as the type of guy who cries, but he's bawling now.

"Baby, hey. Loki, what's wrong?" I ask. But I know what's wrong. I know, but I let him explain anyways.

"Sam, they don't care. My mother doesn't trust me, my father practically despises me and my brother, well, you know. That's the castle, where they are. I can't stand it." He whimpers, and I rub his back, like he was some kind of lonely child.

You see, the world may see Loki as some kind of crazy evil monster, but he's always seemed to me like a lost little boy. All he wants is to play, with Thor, with humans, with his "parents". I hold him tight to me.

"I trust you, and I don't despise you either. I love you. And I always will." I promise.

And in that moment I was happier than ever that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. It burns me that anyone has ever hurt the man I love. In a flash of rage, I storm up towards the castle, ready to give Odin and Thor a piece of my mind. Some guards tried to stop me, but backed off when I gave them a harsh glare and a warning snarl of "Back off, rats." Marble floors and pillars passed in the sides of my eyes, but my focus was on other things.

"Who do you think you are!?" I yell once I see Thor.

"What do you mean Midguardian?" he replies, coolly.

"You think you can hurt your brother in every way possible and break him down so hard that he cries, and you think that I won't have something to say about it!?" I screech, shoving him backwards.

"Go back to your chambers, woman."

"NO!" I scream and tackle him. Loki comes running in.

**LOKI'S POV:**

Sam is hanging off of Thor, screaming about how he has no right. She's trying to avenge me, which is painfully ironic. I trot over to the two, Sam kicking and screaming, and Thor trying to shake her off. He whips his body harshly and Sam flies across the room and hits the wall with a BANG.

"Sam!" I yell, and dart over to her. She's crying, and she tells me she can't move. My full attention trains on Thor.

"You terrible excuse for an Asgardian!" I yell and shove him to the ground.

We're rolling on the floor, punching and kicking and biting, and then Sam joins the party. Her nose is bleeding, and I'm sure she's going to be bruised, but she jumps into the fight. She digs her nails into Thor's arm and she bites his shoulder. I'm laughing at the way Thor squeals at the shocking battle tactics when my mother walks in.

"THOR! LOKI! GET UP!" she commands. Thor and I are up in an instance, but Sam is sprawled on the floor. I can't tell if she's laughing or crying, but she looks pretty beat up.

"Boys! Why are you fighting!? This is a level of frivolity I will not tolerate! Samantha, are you alright?" mother says.

Sam looks furious. She gets to her feet and snaps rudely at the queen.

"Do I look like a Samantha to you!? My name is Sam, don't act like you know me!" she snarls.

The smile forming on my lips makes Thor angry, but Sam drags me out of the castle before either the queen or Thor could get at me.

"That was hot." I tell Sam.

"I didn't get to hurt him." She frowns.

"I think you got him pretty good when you bit him." I laugh.

Sam flashes a crystal smile and I take her hand. She's probably seen enough for today.

"Bed time?" I smile.

"Yeah." She says. We start to walk home, but she falls asleep in my arms. How she can fall asleep while walking is a miracle to me. I carry her back to my house, and lay her in bed. I hope she won't mind sharing. I crawl I beside her and wrap my arms about her. She wakes up and turns to me. I kiss her forehead and we fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

**SAM'S POV:**

The sun shines in my eyes and draws me from my slumber. My face is within centimeters of Loki's. I wiggle out of his hold, and pull myself out of bed. Surprisingly, he stays peacefully asleep. He's so amazing, and just because I can't pull myself away from the sight of his sleeping body, I sit on the edge of the hole and watch him. My feet dangle along the side, and if he was determined, Loki could grab them. As I contemplate his sleeping hands reaching for my toes, his legs move. Deep in a dream, he starts running in his bed. I giggle. His hands flail about, and then he screams. The scream is so desperate so broken, it could curdle blood. It was loud too.

"SAM!" he screams again, but this time he's conscious.

"Loki, it's okay. I'm right here." I say, slipping back next to him.

He springs up and hugs me. His arms hold me, and I feel like he's not letting go anytime soon.

"You were dead. Thor killed you." He explained.

My heart drops. He was dreaming about me being murdered by his own brother. I don't understand why, but it makes me feel awful.

"I'm one hundred percent alive sweetheart. Don't worry." I promise.

I tell him I'm alive, but a feeling in my chest stirs up the fear I thought I didn't have.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

**LOKI'S POV:**  
Sam seems on edge. It's almost as if she's scared now that I dreamed she died.

"Hey, are you alright?" I say.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She says unconvincingly.

"Don't lie to me."

A tear drips down her face. Watching her cry hurts me. Cat scampers in and jumps up at her, and I gently shove him off.

"Hey! Comforting her is my job, Cat!" I growl.

Sam laughs.

"So what's wrong?" I ask.

She explains how there's a feeling in her gut that's scaring the crap out of her. Now I feel terrible. I scoot closer to her and put my hand over hers.

"I won't let anything happen to you." I promised.

Sam smiles.

**SAM'S POV:**

Loki is the sweetest guy. I don't even understand how people think he's evil. Well, I do, because he killed like thousands of people, but you get my point. He's MY mass murderer… which sounds odd now that I say it.

"I trust you with that." I tease.

He kisses me sweetly and I giggle and push him back into the bed. I jump up and dash out into the living room. He storms out jokingly and threatens to love me to death. I laugh until he comes over to me.

"And I'll love you for all eternity." He whispers into my ear.

He's so close I can feel his breath on the side of my face.

"Oh hey, aren't we getting married?" I ask.

"Yeah, I don't know who we're going to invite. We're not very popular." He laughs.

My mind explores the concept. Back on earth, I would invite my parents and my brother and my friends, and we'd probably have a packed wedding. But here, my only friend is Sif. His only friend is Sif. We're not popular, he's right.

"Is there any way we can go back to earth?" I whisper.

"Why, do you not like it here?"

"No! I like it here, it's just, we could have a huge wedding back at home with all my friends and family."

"Darling, you see. We could go back rather easily actually, but I'm forbidden. We love a forbidden love, and I'm positive your parents wouldn't be fond of the man who destroyed New York."

I remember the catastrophe back on Earth. My parents would hate him. So would my friends. He's right.

"You remember how you wanted to rule Midguard. Well, how cool would it be if we went back and apologized? You know, say sorry for destroying your city?" I suggest.

He laughs. I give him a confused look.

"They would throw us in prison."

Of course they would.

"Well, not if I went for you."

Loki seems shocked and somewhat insulted.

"What?" I ask.

"It's like you're trying to fix my mistakes, that or you're trying to get away."

"No! No, no, no! Why would I try to get away? The only thing is, is that my stuff is kind of at my house and I want to say bye to family and stuff, and if I had an excuse to go back-"

"I understand." He cuts me off.

"We could go together? It would be fun." I suggest.

"As long as we avoid SHIELD." He winks.

"You have long eyelashes." I observe.

"Uh, thanks?"

I smile and he takes me by the hand. We walk back into the city and right to the Bifrost. Loki begs and pleads with the man there to be able to go back to Earth, just to collect my stuff. He rejects the request time after time, saying he would only let us go if we had permission from the king. Great. I guess we're not going back.

**LOKI'S POV:**

This is important to Sam, and I intend to get her back to Earth. She seems disappointed, but when I take off towards the palace, her mood changes completely. Not for the better, but at least she wasn't disappointed in me. Now, she was chasing after me telling me it didn't matter. But it did matter to her, and she matters to me, so it's only common courtesy.

When we arrive at the palace, my heart is pounding. The risk is actually really high right now. Odin still might decide to put me in prison, because after all he hasn't really had the chance to professionally speak with me yet. I gulp down the fear rising in my throat and step up to the throne.

"Odin, Sam and I would like to return to Midguard in order to collect her things and say goodbye to her family." I say loudly.

"Loki you have been banished from Midguard. In fact, you're supposed to be in prison right now."

My gut twists around. Here it comes.

"I can't go be imprisoned. What about Sam?"

"She'll be fine on her own."

"No I won't! I don't know anything about anything here!" Sam squeaks frantically.

Guards pour in the sides of the room. I look at Sam desperately and she throws herself into my arms. I feel her tears soak through my shirt.

"She makes me better!" I scream.

Sam blushes in my arms, but Odin is curious.

"She makes me better." I clarify.

"How does she make you better, Loki?" Odin questions. This might be my chance.

Odin may be a strict and rough ruler, but he's fair and reasonable.

"I would never do anything that would scare Sam. Ever. I wouldn't ever kill, or maim, or take over, none of that." I swear.

"Reasonable. Fine. I give you one month of freedom. You must show signs of an improved citizen. Deal?"

"Deal!" I agree hastily.

Sam heaves a sigh of relief into my shoulder. Her head is nuzzled into the crook of my neck, and she's giggling. Don't ask me why, but she is. I still can't believe I fell in love with a human. But you know what, Sam shouldn't even count as a human, she's not like them. She's better.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

**SAM'S POV:**

The fact that my wish to go back to earth almost got Loki thrown in prison brings me to a whole new level of silence. He's going on about how sorry he is that he almost lost me, but I can't respond. What if he actually got thrown in jail? What would I do? The thought gave me shivers, and Loki tugged me close. I used to think no one would ever love me, and I'd end up a lonely cat lady, watching TV with Cat on my lap for hours every day. But now I have Loki, my fiancé, love at first sight, you know.

"Why did you fall in love with me?" I say, my knack for letting things pour out of my mouth exposing me again.

We both stop walking, which I'm sure we were going nowhere anyways. He looks me in the eye and said:

"I love you because you weren't like the other mortals. You had the gut to attack me, and you have an adorable thing with passing out and then coming back. It's quite charming. And then you didn't escape when you could've, and you kept your promise, despite the fact I was a villain and you might've been scared."

I interrupt to tell him I wasn't scared of him, and he continued.

"And then when I kissed you, you weren't disgusted, you felt the same. We've been in sync since the moment we met. And as if all of that wasn't enough, you gave me adventure I wouldn't have experienced if I hadn't met you. You hotwired a motorcycle, drove me on it for hours, had me escape capture twice, and introduced me to cats. You see, you bring out the good in me, the fun in me, the person I never could fish out, and I love that about you." He finishes.

My heart flutters in my chest and I wrap my arms around him. I whisper in his ear, and sprinkle kisses on his neck. I've never loved anyone or anything more than I love him right now. I almost wish we could get married right now, and assure that I'd never be able to leave him. We continue our walk into nowhere land, hand in hand, swinging and skipping about like we were little kids on a sugar high. A large grassy field dotted with white and yellow flowers lay ahead, and the temptation was far too great for me.

Loki's laugh echoes through my head and I dance through the flowers, spinning in circles happily. I flash back to when I was maybe twelve, and I had just cried through another bullying mishap. I had ventured out behind the fence of our backyard and found a field, shockingly similar to this one, but decorated with gorgeous blue wildflowers. I had run through it time and time again until I collapsed in the middle, my body leaving an indent in the high grass. No one could see me; I was concealed by the grass, so I just cried.

Now, here in Asguard, there's no reason to cry. At least until I turned to see Loki collapsed in the grass. I'm about to scream, until I realize he's joking. A sigh of relief escapes my mouth, and I lay down beside him.

**LOKI'S POV:**

The sky is almost as blue as Sam's eyes, and when I tell her my observation, her cheeks flush the same color as the flower I hold in my hand. Not much happens, we just lay and watch the sky go from blue to black, and the moon casts an eerie glow on the once inviting meadow. Just when I consider getting up, an explosion sends fire into the road above us. Sam jerks upwards, but I pull her down into the grass. Whatever just happened, no one can see us here, giving us an advantage.

"Loki, crawl forward." Sam whispers as she scuttles along the ground through the grass.

Ahead was a large tree, with concealing branches heavy with leaves. As invisible as we are in the grass, it's doubled up in that tree. She slips up the trunk and pulls herself into high branches. I follow her up, and we huddle on a thick branch. Sam pulls one leaf away, giving us a window to the chaos happening above. Battleships crash around us, and fighting men dash around the palace. Dead bodies are already scattered, and Sam lets the leaf snap back to its spot in our shield.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know. But we'll be okay. I promise." I comfort Sam.

She leans against me, forcing me against the trunk of the tree. I expect her to cry, because she does that quite a bit, but she doesn't.

"I would talk, but I'm not sure what to say." I tell her, turning her cheek with my finger.

Our eyes meet, and I can see a sparkle in hers. Why is she happy? Asguard is under attack! Just as I'm about to explain, she jumps from the tree.

"Sam! Come back!" I squeal.

She doesn't even turn her head as she dashes out into the madness. Why did I pick a crazy one?! I chase after her, but she has a serious lead. She slows for me, and fire laps at our feet.

"You're nuts! Where are we headed?" I laugh.

"The palace. Odin wants an improved citizen, we'll give him one." She explains as we approach.

I start to get nervous as we enter, but she pulls me by the hand. There's no way we could do anything, but she's sort of determined. We snatch some weapons from guards lying on the floor. It's pretty safe to say they won't need them again. Stealthily tiptoeing through the palace, we don't encounter any enemies until we hit the throne room. Then all at once all the elves are on us. Before I can say anything, I fall. Blood trickles from my side, and the last thing I see is Sam's terrified eyes.

**SAM'S POV:**

Loki's lying on the floor, and I assume the worst. Fury overtakes me and I attack the monsters with everything I have. Tears fly in a flurry, and elves hit the ground. HARD. Once the room is clear, which wasn't hard as there was very few of them. I drop to my knees beside Loki, and try to revive him. When he comes to, he whispers.

"I love you."

And then he was gone.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

**SAM'S POV:**

When Thor runs in, I'm bawling over Loki. The scream of agony the Thor screams strikes a pain in my chest. Thor drops beside me, and I cry into him. Soon Odin and Frigga come running to see what the fuss was about, and when they see the two of us, and Loki's corpse, the mood drops roughly 70%. Odin stands firm, he probably hates Loki and is glad he died. But Frigga is on the floor with us in seconds.

The combined wailing is enough to drive even the dead guy mad. I kiss Loki's forehead gently, and tell him I loved him too. I get up to walk away, but I don't know where I'll go. But once I'm on my feet, I can't stand and watch them carry Loki's body away. I escape right away, and I just go back to that field. I lay where we had been last, and I cry and cry until the grass is damp.

Thor somehow found me, and he took a seat next to me. His face is almost as tear soaked as mine. I assume he has no words for me, but he says something that sinks my heart like a broken battleship.

"All he ever wanted was you."

I begin to cry again.

"He told me. When we were alone back on Midguard, he told me that his whole life he'd been searching for something to be loved by and to love, and he finally found it. That's why I didn't immediately send you home. Because I could've."

The thought of Loki drives me into hysterics. What will I do now? I couldn't leave now. Life back on Earth seemed dull and unrealistic now.

"This is Asguard! There must be some kind of magic you can use to bring him back!" I cry desperately.

Thor shakes his head and the hysterics continue. Then it hits me. I've known him no more than a week and a half maybe. I fell in love with a total stranger. I don't know him how could I care about him. The thought draws me to my feet and pushes the sadness from my mind. Thor stays, and seems to be watching the grass sway in the breeze.

I storm through the door of the house I was to share with Loki.

"Cat!"

The black animal darts out and sits at my feet. I scoop him up and leave the house, taking one last look at where I might've lived. My feet find the road to the palace where Sif had parked herself earlier. When I arrived, Sif and Frigga were sat beside Loki.

"Bye Sif. Good luck with him." I whisper.

Sif tries to convince me to stay, but there is nothing here for me. I thank her for lending me the dress, and she said that I could keep it to remember her. I smile, and the walk through that palace was the longest walk I've ever had to take.

"Heimdall, take me home."

He nods, and I cautiously step forward into the vortex of whirling colors. In a flash, I'm standing in a city full of police, S.H.I.E.L.D agents, and construction workers. New York City is in ruins, and I remember the death and destruction my dead lover had caused. Anger boiled in my blood, anger that should've been showed towards Loki from the first moment I met him to right now. That dirty "god" took my heart and I shouldn't have let him.

Cat is struggling in my arms, so I hold him tighter. Suddenly, a jet lands just inches in front of me. My guess was indeed correct as Captain America and Tony Stark come towards me.

"Can I get a ride?" I say sarcastically.

The Captain eyes me unsurely, but Tony nods instantly. It's quite entertaining the contrast in their personality. My mind is soon painting pictures of the two of them fighting and I laugh out loud, which confuses them as we load onto the jet. Fury is stood in the entrance, and I flash a bratty smile at him.

"I need to talk to you about S.H.I.E.L.D." he says, the monotone he usually speaks in ringing in my ears.

"What, would you like me to apply for a job?" I snap, sarcasm dripping from my lips.

"Actually, yes. We're looking for someone in our extra-terrestrial division, and since you've been to Asguard, you'd fit perfectly."

The thought crosses my mind that this is perfect. The last job I had, I'd be fired from by now, and my house is probably under S.H.I.E.L.D investigation.

"I accept."

"Okay. Your first assignment: Where is Loki?"

I grin.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

***10 YEARS LATER***

**SAM'S POV:**

"Frank, stop playing that game, our readings are off the charts." I laugh, shoving my coworker out of his seat.

"Come on Sam! I never do anything anyways. Just go off and do your fancy agent stuff!" he teases me back.

Since the New York invasion, I have been employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. first as part of their extra-terrestrial division, and then I was promoted to their Avengers project. That's where I met Frank. He's my best friend; I practically live at his house. We spend all our time together, whether it's going to see superhero movies or chick flicks, to shopping at the mall. I confide in him and he tells me everything. But later, I was updated to field agent, and now I spend my time out in the world, keeping check on the Avengers and any threats that may arise. Of course, I got to choose my partner who does the more technical half of my work, and so here we are, Frank and me in my office, doing work that doesn't exist.

"So absolutely nothing cool is happening in the world right now." Frank states as I begin to twirl in my chair.

"No kidding."

Just as I'm about to get up and leave, every chart, every meter, and every device goes nuts. Frank starts to clack away on his keyboard and I fiddle with the instruments. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped, and a flash of light engulfs my office. I run to Frank, and we clutch each other.

"Hello, my love." A tall man grins. "Who's that?!" he growls.

I take in the sight of my biggest mistake. My heart lurches and my breath catches in my throat.

"Loki. That's Loki." Frank mutters, shocked and still gripping me.

"Loki, this is Frank."

"Hey." Frank barks.

"Where's your ring?" Loki asks.

"I took it for a drive." I say. Loki nods, but when Frank cracks up, Loki frowns.

"Well, no matter. Come here, you." Loki says pulling me to him.

He tries to kiss me. Out of instinct, my hand shoves him against the door and I punch him across the mouth.

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" Frank squeals.

"Shut up Frank." I growl.

**LOKI'S POV:**

I suppose this is what I get, coming back to life to find my wife. She has some sort of guy with her, and she's not wearing her ring. I thought she loved me, but she's pushed me away from a kiss. I try to ask her why, but she whips out her cell phone and calls someone.

"Fury, Loki is in my office. Get over here. Now."

My blood boils. She's a traitor. My hands clasp around her neck and I scream.

"You loved me! I loved you more than anything in the whole universe! I can't believe you!"

The color drains out of her face, and I think I get the satisfaction of watching her collapse on the floor, but the Frank guy latches onto my back, and Fury comes in with a gun. Tear slips down the pallid face of the girl who once loved me, and I realized what I had done. An agent shackles me and tugs me roughly away to the same glass container Sam and I had once been in.

"Why did you come back?" I'm questioned as one agent shoves me maliciously into the cell.

"I came back for Sam. But Sam doesn't want me."

"Oh how sad. Sam works for us now, and she's built quite a hate for you. It's all so ironic isn't it?" Fury practically laughs.

As I think of a comeback, Sam is marched through, paramedics hanging off of her, but she's pushing them away saying that she was fine. Frank stands beside her, her hand in his like she used to do with me.

"She's not crying." I think out loud.

"I'm stronger now, Loki." She hisses at me as they left the room.

"We've trained her well. And if you haven't noticed, you're exactly what we've trained her for."

The thought pulls on my heart in ways that it shouldn't. I'm the dangerous enemy that she's trained to defend herself from. She's trained to think I'd hurt her. I start to travel over thoughts that cut my feet, and soon I'm curled into the corner bawling. How weak I've become! I'm crying over my mortal lover not loving me. I try to stop, but I can't. The flowing wet of pain keeps drizzling.

**SAM'S POV:**

"Frank I'm telling you I'm fine." I assure the wide eyed man next to me.

"I know you're fine physically, but there has to be something bugging you mentally and emotionally."

Frank always knows what's wrong, and it makes me happy knowing that someone understands me when I don't even understand me.

"I'm just mad that I ever loved him as much as I did. Just the way we abused that word and that concept is ridiculous." I explain.

"But maybe you really did love him. I mean, when my mom first met my dad, she knew in the first minutes that he was special, and they were seriously committed in the first days. That's with space in between when they saw each other too. You and that thing were together for days straight, there's no wonder you had feelings for him. Did you consider that you wanted a reason to not care, to avoid the pain of him dying?" Frank rambles on, but makes perfect sense.

"Frank, can I just tell you that you're the greatest?" I say, pecking his cheek as I run towards the cell where Loki's contained.

I have no intention of giving up anything I have right now to be with Loki, and I have no intention of being in love with him again, but it's worth a mutual friendship. What I see when I walk in is pitiful and not the man that I knew. Loki's in the corner, tear stained and soaked in his own cries. He doesn't notice me walk in, so I sit back to back with him, the only thing keeping me from him is the thick glass of the cell.

"Hey." I say softly.

"What do you want, Sam?" he growls.

"I just want to talk."

"Well I don't."

I turn to look him in the eyes.

"Loki, listen to me. We had something, somehow, sometime, but not here. I'm not looking to be married to you right now, or maybe ever. But I'm willing to make an effort to be your friend, because that's all we ever were, glorified friends. If you don't want me as a friend, I won't try. Do you get it?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I choked you."

"Well, that's honestly the weirdest apology I've ever heard." I laugh. "It's okay though, it was splendid practice for a day when I'll actually need to be worried."

"You weren't worried?" Loki sounds almost disappointed.

"I've told you before. I'm not scared of you." I wink.

His smile is still beautiful, but in a new way now. Frank walks in and tells me I have to go back to work, but I want to stay. I fight the urge, stand up, and say goodbye. Loki sits as I walk away, and he leans against the glass, as if trying to feel the warmth I'd left on the once cold wall.

**LOKI'S POV:**

The joy, pain, and wonder that Sam gives me every time we talk is too much to handle now. I lay my head back and fall asleep with a smile on my face.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

**FRANK'S POV:**

After the whole Loki encounter, me and Sam had went to dinner at our favorite fast food, McDonalds. It's not really our favorite; we just go there every night. I guess if an actual restaurant that wasn't exactly fancy opened up between work and home, we might go there, but for now, we'll stick with McDonalds. Sam gets her usual plain cheeseburger, large fries, and a diet cola, and I choose something new, just like I always do. I'm determined to try everything on the menu here, and Sam desires nothing more than her usual every day. We take our time with dinner, the same booth we always sit in is located in the back corner of the restaurant, and graffitied with pencil scribbles that Sam and I had left.

"So you and Loki seemed to kiss and make up, am I dreaming?" I ask.

"No, we made up, but no kissing. Nasty." She giggles.

She adds a tally to the ones on the wall.

"That makes four hundred and three." I laugh.

We've known each other for roughly eight years, but we started coming here sometime last year. All the tallies are under the table and etched ever so lightly that very few notice, but when they do they wash it off. The employees kept erasers on the front counter, a tendency that Sam and I found insanely amusing. Soon after she marked the tally, we finished our meals, refilled our cups, and headed for home.

"Your place or mine?" I ask, getting behind the wheel.

"Mine." She responds.

The decision made sense, I'm sure she wanted the comfort of her own home after seeing her ex. Our houses are within walking distance, but we have no need to stop by my house- we both have a month's worth the clothes at each other's houses. A small ringing sound breaks the silence and stirs Sam from her daydream.

"Samantha John, Avengers division, how may I help you?" she says simply.

A worried look flashes on her face, but then she soothes herself and says yes to whatever question she had been asked.

"So, looks like it's going to be a slumber party. Loki's coming over."

I feel a metaphorical rock drop on all my plans for tonight. Tonight was the night I was going to ask Sam to be my girlfriend, not my best friend. This Loki guy has had a negative effect on our lives already, and he's only been here for hours.

**SAM'S POV:**

Fury had an emergency with one of the cells and needed to move an experiment into Loki's cage. Loki needs a guard, and no one's more qualified than me. My hand rests on my thigh, my feet kicked up onto the dashboard. Frank drives until we reach a small neighborhood, flourishing with gorgeous green trees and pink and blue flowers. A pond lies in the center of it all, and the water is like glass, clear as day and unmoving. Birds would flutter by, singing songs with the children that play along the road during the day, but the dark of night has drawn them inside. The neighborhood I live in is a circle, and its circumference is lined with houses. There are thirty medium to small houses; each painted a different shade of brown.

Funny story, Frank and I decided that brown was overrated, so we painted our houses purple and blue. Not outrageous and neon like I'd wanted, but dark and elegant, which is still cool, and allowed. My house is on one side of the pond; Frank's is on the flip side. Little kids run around, their faces painted with brilliant smiles and laughter floats around the circle. We pull into my driveway and the chalk paintings speckling the road leaves marks on the tires. I jump out of the car just in time to see an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent pulling around the bend. They see me standing there watching them, and they park right by the mailbox, reminding me to check the mail. Furtively, they unload Loki and keep him out of view of the children.

"Good luck. We'll be back to get him tomorrow."

"No worries, we'll bring him in with us."

The agent protests, but I insist and then send him off. Loki stands in my driveway, dressed in normal clothes and shackled with high tech cuffs that looked familiar. He looked almost human as I led him inside and sat him down on the couch. I flip the switch on the TV and let him watch as Frank and I chatted and slurped down our drinks.

"I guess I should say hi." I say to Loki. But I didn't want to say hi, I wanted to have him out of my life again, and have just me and Frank doing stupid things and dancing to Selena Gomez songs when they came onto Pandora.

"Hi." Loki replies, but he's sucked into the news feed.

Cat comes running in, and Loki's astonished when he sees another cat dashes after him.

**LOKI'S POV:**

A shockingly white cat had followed Cat out into the room, and I instantly wondered about it.

"Who's this?" I ask.

"That's Dog. So I have Dog and Cat, who are black and white. Get it?" she giggles.

"Where did you get her?"

"Frank found her on the side of the road one day as a kitten and brought her to me." She smiles sweetly at the guy, and I can't fight the jealousy bubbling in my chest.

"So Sam I wanted to talk to you." Frank trails off.

"So talk!" she laughs.

"Uh, alone."

Sam blushes.

"Loki, can you please just not be troublesome and stay here with Cat and Dog? I'll be right back."

I nod, but I want to hear. When they walk down the hall, I squeeze against the wall so they can't see me, but I can hear them.

"So, we've been super close for ten years now, and I have seen you be lonely, and I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to be-"

"YES!" Sam squeals.

I can hear a kiss happen in the hallway. Trying to be sneaky didn't work well as I jumped into their view and screamed.

"Gross!" I laugh.

They don't think it was so funny. Cold eyes glare into my very soul, then Sam kisses him again, and the lip lock that Sam had only shared with me before ensued. I refused to cry in front of anyone, or at all, but I left just in case. I sat back on the couch and sniffed the tears away. Then Cat jumped on my lap. So much has changed, but good old Cat is the same. He rubs against me and I stroke down his back. Then I lose it.

**SAM'S POV:**

I was happy with a new relationship, but something inside me wasn't right. The feeling was so small though, that I wrote it off as butterflies. We walk out hand in hand and Loki is crying on the couch, curled up, defenseless.

"What's the matter?" I ask quizzically.

"Can I talk to you? Alone." He says, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yeah." I lead him into the hallway.

I lean up against the wall and he collects himself.

"I thought you loved me Sam."

"Loki, we knew each other for not even a week. It couldn't have been real. You don't just fall in love in three minutes. It was a spur of the moment fling, and I'd hardly call that love."

"I would."

My heart sinks. His hand reaches for mine and fiddles with my ring finger. I regret losing the ring now, because it truly was adorable.

"You might say you didn't feel it, but you did, and so did I. Whatever happened between then and now, I wish it hadn't, because you were the best I ever had."

"And you were my only."

Now it's my turn to cry. I put my head on his shoulder and cry. My mind stumbles over what he had said and I silently cry into him. He holds me tight, with a firmness that Frank just didn't have. Frank was my best friend, what if we broke up? How would we be friends, and how could I go on without him as a friend?

"I-I just can't. I'm so sorry." I cry.

I watch is heart fall apart in my hands.

"I'm sorry." I say again and wipe the tears from my face.

I stand with my back to him and pull myself together. Then I jump out into the living room and pet the cats, trying to look normal.

"Okay, so ice cream or hot chocolate?" Frank questions.

"Both!" I squeal.

I tiptoe into the kitchen and pull out my candy cane ice cream and Frank's boring old chocolate.

"Loki what ice cream do you want?" I ask.

"I don't care." He says, mesmerized by the TV again.

I scoop out candy cane ice cream into a bowl and lean over the counter. I set it gently in his hands, and he gently rubs his thumb over my hand. I pull away and work on my ice cream while Frank makes cocoa.

"Mmm. This is great." Loki says swallowing the cold treat.

"I told you Frank! Loki thinks it's great!" I giggle.

Frank hands me the hot chocolate and I pass it on to Loki. Then I sip out of a steaming cup of it and plop down on the couch. Frank sits by me and Loki is curled opposite from us. It made me sad, but I couldn't exactly admit that he was right, considering I had just become Frank's girlfriend. I don't know how, but this is all going to fall apart, and I'm going to be alone. The feeling haunts me and I slowly drift off to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

**FRANK'S POV:**

I wake up on the couch, Sam sprawled across it, her feet pushed against me and her head resting in Loki's lap. The sight stirs anger up in me and I am tempted to wake them both up and push them off the couch. In order to seem normal, I check my phone and go change my clothes. During my morning phone check, I see that I missed a call from S.H.I.E.L.D. I feel a nerve of fear and excitement. No one from work ever called me unless they couldn't reach Sam, and she always got her phone.

"Frank, we need to talk about promoting you. Sam is moving on to do big things in our S.H.I.E.L.D division in America, but we lack such promising employees in other areas. Call back as soon as possible, and we'll see you tomorrow at work." A familiar voice recited through the phone.

The message ended with a click, and I set my phone down and sat on Sam's bed. I finally get the girl, my best friend now my girlfriend, and now I might be going to "other areas". How will I tell Sam!? She'll be fine, she's a strong girl. She's been through this type of thing before, and she can do it again. The thought of her crying over me floats through my mind as I dress myself for work. Once I'm ready, and tiptoe to Sam and wake her up.

"It's five Sam, time to get ready." I whisper.

Sam is up and on her feet in seconds and heads to her room to change. I sit by the sleeping Loki and flip on the TV. The news draws him out of his sleep.

"Where's Sam?" he asks, worry in his voice.

"Getting dressed."

He then stands and walks down the hall. I'm about to say something, but I decide to let him be. The news rambles on about a shooting and a robbery, and then Sam walks out. Loki follows close after and she's talking to him despite the fact he can barely hear him.

"Ready to go guys?" Sam asks rhetorically as she walks out the door.

Loki and I shuffle after her, because there is no doubt in either of our minds that she will leave without us. I jump into the driver's seat while Sam calls shot gun. Loki slides into the back seat and buckles himself in. I start the car and Sam changes the radio and adjusts the heat. Loki looks thoroughly tired in the back of the car.

"So I think I'm getting promoted." I say to Sam.

"Oh. That's exciting." She says, clearly not excited.

"And it might be a really big promotion." I continue.

"Stop rubbing it in." she bites back.

"I'm not trying to; I'm just trying to tell you that I might be leaving."

She turns full body towards me.

"What!?" she yells.

"Maybe! Not for sure!"

"Are you even considering it? Because keep in mind you best friend and girlfriend lives HERE." she hisses angrily.

I don't know why she's so upset. I'm getting promoted, which is good. I will never understand the mind of females.

**LOKI'S POV:**

The bickering continues in the front seat while I look out the window. I vaguely remember seeing certain roads and such when I was here last. Within a half hour we arrive at S.H.I.E.L.D. Sam and Frank had fought for the whole ride, and honestly, it was entertaining for a millisecond, but then it was just obnoxious. They bickered in the front seat for another five minutes in the S.H.I.E.L.D parking lot, and I wondered if they'd be late. Soon, it graduated to full scale yelling and screaming, and I couldn't stand it. I opened the car door and walked myself right back to Fury and the group of agents surrounding him.

"Sam and Frank are violently fighting in the car. I was getting a headache." I smiled weakly as they walked me back to prison.

The cell now had drawings of flowers on the inside, and it was actually pleasant for once. I sprawl out across the floor as if I were to make snow angels, but there was no snow. I counted lines on the ceiling, petals on the flowers, and now I was working on stitches in the row on my clothes. It's safe to assume I was beyond bored when Sam came in. Tears dripped down her cheeks and if she was wearing makeup, she had cried it away.

"Sam? What's the matter darling?!" I say putting my hand against the glass.

She puts hers against it and explains. Frank was moving out of country. He was leaving her, and to top it off, he broke up with her in the car. She'd have to ride the bus home for the first time in a long time. I wish I could hold her, but there was thick glass between us.

"I'd give you a hug, but, you know." I say.

She lets out a little laugh, but it was overcome by tears. Then she walked to a panel and opened the door. I stayed seated, honestly nervous. She walked in and sat next to me.

"I'll take that hug now."

**FURY'S POV:**

I go looking for Sam throughout S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki has become classified as "not our problem" but I'm not too keen on letting him roam the streets. Sam wouldn't mind at least checking in with him from time to time, and I would give her the order if I could just find her. And when I do, I feel odd. Sam is in Loki's arms, sobbing into his chest. The door to the cell was wide open, but neither of them was going anywhere.

"This seems familiar." I say closing the door.

"Fury, can you leave us be. Sam is dying inside." Loki pleads.

Sam's sobs turn to laughter for a second, but then she's bawling again. I nod and leave. I'll leave the assignments on her desk I suppose.

**SAM'S POV:**

I guess I've forgotten how much I had loved Loki, because it all rushed back at once when Loki held me. Butterflies overtook control of my stomach, and my heart felt as though it had grown wings. Metaphorically of course, because that would cause major medical problems. I look up and stare into his eyes.

"I've missed you." He says.

"I love you." I whisper.

"Really?" his eyes light up and lips curve into a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, really. I guess I pushed it away to fight the pain of you, well, dying." I say rather cheaply.

"Well, I loved you the whole time, so I guess I win." He says as he kisses my lips.

"Your whole face is seriously wet, Sam. You need an industrial strength towel!" Loki laughs.

It feels good to laugh with him again. I picture us back in Asguard, lying in the tall grass watching the clouds. Hopefully I'll be there again someday soon. The times ahead seem bright and promising, yet dark and heartbreaking, and I decide it's up to me to choose which side of life to embrace.

"Let's just be happy and amazing okay?" I ask.

"Of course."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

**SAM'S POV:**

I wake up on my own couch. After stretching, I expect to see Frank curled up and asleep on the floor, but I don't. Then I freak out, much to the dismay of Loki, who walks in as I scream.

"What's wrong?" he asks me.

He's wearing Frank's clothes, and he looks relatively normal. And I catch the scent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and of him and of Frank all at once. My mind spins, and stars fly past me. And all at once, I'm falling. Bullets rain down and lightning strikes the empty space beside me. Frank stands above it all, and I can't read the look on his face. He could be sad, happy, mad, and devilish and I wouldn't see.

In a flash, I wake up, for real this time. I shoot up and survey the cell. Loki's head is rested on my lap, and he's softly snoring. I run my fingers through his hair, which is softer than I'd thought it was. The lights are all off, and no one is walking through the halls. S.H.I.E.L.D. is "closed" and all the employees are home. I shouldn't be here right now, so why am I? I squeeze out from under Loki and get to my feet. As much as I tried to be quiet, he woke up in a matter of minutes.

"Sorry." I say as he gets to his feet.

"Nah, its fine. I wasn't tired anyways."

I swipe my keycard under a sensor in the door and it slides open. Thank God that worked, or else we'd be stuck. As I walk to my office, I realize Fury would freak out if his prisoner was gone, so I grabbed a sticky note and a pen a scribbled down a note.

-Fury

I took Loki home for supervision or whatever you need to hear.

-Sam

I was about to go stick it to the cell when I caught sight of a manila folder on my desk. I flip it over and read through it. Papers about Loki, and the fact that he needs supervision by an agent, and how they need him out of S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, the last paragraph read:

Samantha has been nominated to possess control over Loki of Asguard.

My heart jumps and a smile creeps onto my lips. Me in charge of Loki, living on earth, and my job. Life was just dandy, minus the fact I had lost my best friend hours before. I grab the note and the file as well as my cell phone and jog back out to Loki who was patiently waiting just inside the cell.

"Come out, darling. You're coming home with me." I laugh.

"Oh that's refreshing."

I stick the note to the glass and he takes my hand. After I complained about my legs hurting for the tenth time, he scoops me up and carried me bridal style through S.H.I.E.L.D. I giggle from the offices all the way to the parking lot, when I realize we have no car.

"Frank always drives me." I explain.

And I flip out my phone and check the time. 1:37 AM. Great. I start walking, expecting to make it home around 2:30. We trudge down the street until we reach civilization. The glowing lights of supermarkets and headlights blind us as we approach the area where McDonalds is located. Loki and I talk about things, about Asguard, about home, about where we're going to take "us". We decide on living on earth, and if we did a wedding, we'd wait. And when I say wait I mean WAIT. Like sometime in the next two years. The topic of cats comes up and Loki says he wants to go get another kitten. I laugh at the idea, but honestly I'd like it too.

Roughly 2:46ish, we step foot into my driveway. I fumble open the door and Loki closes it behind us. We say nothing until we get into my bedroom, and then we just stare at the bed.

"I can sleep on the couch." Loki offers.

I shake my head and grab him. His lips find mine instantly, and we end up asleep on the bed, above the covers and tangled in each other. His warmth radiates through me, washing my need for blankets away. I dream about cats, and me and him, and all things happy. And honestly, I wanted that. I wanted the new kitten, I wanted Loki to be my husband, I wanted the sun to shine and the flowers to bloom, and I want to lay in that field up in Asguard and laugh about stupid things. And then as this rolled through my mind, I promised myself that I'd take a day off and we'd go get a kitten. A little tabby, or maybe a calico, or a rescue or any adorable cat with personality and take her home.

I woke up again around four, and Loki was still asleep, and so I watched him. His hair fidgeted in the breeze his breath made and his eyes twitched. Every once in a while, he'd move his arm, or kick his leg out, or hug me tighter. Have you ever realized, lying in bed, staring at someone or something, that you're so happy, and you just want to scream? It all flooded over me, and the words I love you run through my mind like stampedes. And all at once, Loki wakes up, his eyes penetrating me. Lights twinkle through the window, and the occasional meow from Cat and Dog stir the perfect silence, but in that moment all I could see was him, and all I could hear was his heavy breathing.

"Can I tell you something?" he whispers.

"Nope." I laugh quietly.

"Oh well." He says, and then continues. "I love you more than Thor loves Jane, Fury loves S.H.I.E.L.D. and you love cats, and I will never let you get away from me again."

"So I'm the Cat to your Dog and the Thor to your Jane?"

"Always."

"Forever."

"Exactly."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

**SAM'S POV:**

I wake up with Loki's ruffled black hair tickling my cheeks. He's kneeling above me, sprinkling kisses over my face. He greets me with a good morning, and I smile. He reaches his hand down and cradles half of my face and tucks a strand of wild hair behind my ear. Then he leans down and softly kisses my lips. Before he can pull away, I attach to him like a sloth, so he leans up, I go with him. He tries to stand up, and I cling to him for dear life. Squeals of joy fill the room, and I feel like a little girl. He kisses my nose and sets me back onto the bed. Instantly, I jump up and run off into the living room.

"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!" I screech, ducking under the counter.

Loki stalks out from the bedroom, tiptoeing quickly across the room. When he finds me, I spring up and dash to the next room. It's a vicious cycle, and we repeat the process with the same spots and rooms repetitively until Loki turns around and goes the opposite way and grabs me with ease. Squeaking and wiggling I attempt to escape his grasp. Then I remember he's like a demi god so I give in. I let myself go limp, and he pulls me up and cradles me like I'm his infant daughter. His eyes pierce me like swords as he says "I missed you so much."

And it hurts me that I can't say that I did too, and it hurts him that I don't say anything back. He sets me down and ushers me to the couch. Instead of sitting where he puts his hand, I sit right in his lap. He gives me a harsh look and I hop into the spot beside him.

"Sam, you hated me for ten years, and in a matter of days, you loved me again. I'm not sure what to make of that. When we first met it was instant, and now it is again. Can you promise me you won't leave me again?"

My heart sinks. It hurts to be honest. He doesn't believe that I love (d) him. I've told him before, and we've gone through the lovey stuff and all that, but he did present a point. Immediately, I begin to plan the proof of this thing we have. Loki is still looking at me expectantly.

"I really do love you." I assure him.

**LOKI'S POV:**

A few hours after tag and a serious moment, I'm sat on the couch learning how to work the television. Sam is dashing here and there, grabbing and tossing things. I can't help but continue to watch her scurry and wonder what she's doing. I had made the mistake of asking earlier, and she just about killed me. Since then she had collected a small amount of dishes, food, candles, cloths, and various decorations. The final collection was two roses in a vase. Now I realize what she's doing. At least I think I do.

"Do you want me to change?" I offer.

She nods and leads me into her/my room. A suit that I assume belonged to Frank was hung on the closet door. She gestures towards it and asks me to at least try it. Fine. She leaves and continues to set up the date night table or whatever. I hope she realizes that this isn't exactly proof of anything, but it's sweet, and I'm starting to regret my previous doubts, so I'll go along with it. She giggles when I walk in, causing me to doubt this outfit.

"You look retarded, but my parents will love it." She says adjusting the suit.

"Your parents?!" I exclaim.

"Yeah. They're coming over to meet my fiancé. Proof?"

My heart races and I can't think straight. I invaded New York! Sam just expects her parents to love me?! I'm a criminal here! I sit down at the table, which only now I see is set for four.

"It's okay." She soothes. "They're easy going most of the time."

Most of the time. MOST. Sam leaves to get changed as I struggle to catch my breath. I suppose this is what I asked for, doubting. The sound of a timer stirs me and drags Sam out of her room, running to get the food. She's wearing a dress that ends just below her knees. The white fabric makes her eyes look darker and fuller. Silver powder is painted over her eyelids and her eyelashes are extended. As she fusses with the food, I watch her bare feet slap at the floor while she hustles from here to there and back again. Her hair is braided and draped around her shoulder and weaved in with the hair is strands of dark blue ribbon.

In short, Sam looks gorgeous, and I don't want to share with her parents. I'm about to say something when the doorbell rings. Sam squeals and tugs on a pair of heels that make her almost as tall as me. She answers the door and her two parents stroll in. Her mother is tall enough to be just below Sam when she's not in heels and sports a head of pure white hair. Not because she's old, but because she dyed it. She wore black pants and a glittery blouse that gave me a headache. Sam's dad was taller and was as tall as Sam while she WAS wearing heels. He was dressed normally and had naturally gray hair. I assume it was from dealing with his wife, but that was just me.

"Hi mom. Dad. How are you guys?" Sam asks hugging them both.

"I'm great. I just got my nails done and the guy at the salon was adorbs and I would set you up with him but you already have someone yourself where is the handsome man?" Sam's mom rambles on, not stopping for breath until the end of her run on sentence.

When they see me leaning against the doorframe their faces sink and they glare at their daughter.

"So, this is Loki." She says grabbing my hand.

"You mean the rat that destroyed New York?" Her mom bites.

"No. His name is Loki and I expect you to treat him kindly." Sam hisses.

"Loki, this is my mom, Margaret and my dad Mark." She introduces me.

"Hi." Is all I can muster up.

Sam ushers them to the table. While the table looked amazing, dotted with flowers and silverware and plates set precisely, it barely fit all four of us. Sam and I had to squish to one side of the table because her parents refused to sit next to me. I have to admit, it was offending. Sam tried to talk me up, but her parents refused to accept that I could be relatively nice or not evil. Finally, after too many rude comments, I stood up for myself.

"Okay. I realize that I made a mistake, but that was ten years ago, and before Sam. I've been in Asguard for ten years, changing and regretting my mistake. I love Sam more than anything, and it would mean the world to me if I could just be accepted by her family. Can you give me a chance?" I plead.

Margaret and Mark ponder the statement. A small smile creeps onto Mark's face and he nods furtively, avoiding his wife seeing. I smile at the success. One is better than zero right? Margaret doesn't speak for a while, so Sam fills the silence with stories of when she came to Asguard with me.

"Can you believe it's almost Christmas?" Mark points out.

"What's that?" I question.

"You don't know what Christmas is?!" Sam screeches.

"Uh, no. What is it?" I ask again.

In response I get a full lecture about presents and Santa and how Santa isn't actually real, as well as a baby in a manger whose name is Jesus. Sam told me about the Christmas tree, and said that we'd go get one tomorrow. In turn, Mark informed me about candy canes and cookies and family get togethers. Christmas sounded like great fun.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

**LOKI'S POV:**

Sam had taught me about Christmas. We had a huge Christmas tree spotted with bulbs of different colors. Shining lights and blow up nativity scenes scattered the streets and the air was thick with the smell of pure and utter joy. It was terrible. So many happy people it made me sick. Honestly, I was overjoyed when it was over. And then I found out about New Year's. More happy people cheering and screaming over the day that a new year begins and confetti and noise, it's just awful. January 7th finally rolled around and I was awful excited for the holiday hype to end. Sam woke up early this morning and shook me awake.

"Guess what today is?!" she squeals.

"I don't know. The day the festivity is over?" I growl.

"IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! I'm a whole year older Loki. A WHOLE YEAR!" Sam was giggling and jumping around.

Oh great.

"That's today?" I asked, despite the fact I knew.

"YES NOW GET UP!" she commanded.

Her voice sounded so quivery and excited I forced myself out of bed and followed her down the hallway. Boxes wrapped in shimmery paper lined the room. The wrapping reminded me of Christmas, because I had gotten my own gift of what Midguardians call a gift card. Sam said I could use it to buy clothes that didn't belong to her ex-boyfriend/ best friend. When Sam grabbed my hand and spun in circles, trying to get me to dance with her, I did my best to shake away the sleep and dance along. Sam collapsed into a sitting position and grabbed a box. The paper was discarded within seconds and inside was a small box. She gasped and opened it up. A small pendant hung on a chain that seemed to be gold. Sam explained that it was a necklace, but I knew what it was.

"It's a locket," she told me. "I can put pictures in here." she said opening the heart the dangled from her neck.

"That's rather odd. Why would you-"

"So I can see whoever I put in it every day even if their away."

I smiled. She ripped open more presents from her mom and dad (who the locket was from I do not remember, although it might've been Frank). Soon the parents' gifts faded into gifts from S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury had gotten her some weird thing to cover her weapons with. Sam couldn't quite explain it to me, which was okay. I didn't want to know. After the floor was coated in layers of paper and Sam had acquired quite the stash of gifts, I proposed an idea.

"Why don't we go shopping?" I ask.

"Okay sure!"

We got in the car and she drove us to the nearest shopping center, one that I had become familiar with. Inside of the large parking lot was a grocery store, a clothing store, a store that I don't know what it sold, and most importantly, a pet store. Even though I didn't care so much about gifts, I knew Sam did, and I wanted to make her day special. She led me into the clothing store and we shopped around and she forced me to try on jeans and a T-Shirt that said a joke that I didn't get. When I came out of the dressing room, she slung a flannel shirt over the tee.

"Oh. My. Goodness. You are gorgeous." Sam announces.

"Uh, thanks."

I take the stuff off and end up only buying the jeans and flannel, as well as a pair of black shoes called Converse. The stuff fascinated me, but Sam said I looked good, and I trusted that.

**SAM'S POV:**

Loki and I were walking along the side walk between stores, and as we passed the pet store, he tugged me inside and we were surrounded by white walls and checkered floors. People walking animals were scattered throughout, but the cat adoption in the center of the room was the most exciting thing. I ran immediately to the cats. A little orange tabby was playfully rolling and meowing and he kept rubbing against the side of his cage.

"He's so perfect." I decide.

"You want him?" Loki asks.

"Well of course, but."

Loki put his finger to my lips.

"No buts. It's your birthday."

So we fussed with the other cats and more with him, but in the end I decided on him. I informed the lady at the desk.

"Are you experienced?"

"Oh yeah. I have two at home."

"Well he should fit right in. He's good with other animals. His name was George, but you can call him anything because he doesn't respond to George anyways." She told me.

I nodded, and she guided me through the paper work. In twenty minutes, Loki and I were picking out his collar and kennel and getting him his own food dish. We decided to call him Garfield, after the one and only. Loki didn't know who Garfield was, so I had to explain. He said he'd read a comic book of his when we got home. He didn't though, because we were playing with our own Garfield. Cat and Dog got on well with him at first sight, and we slowly introduced them all. They seemed to get on fine, which was relieving because Dog took a long time to get along with Cat. Loki and I cuddled with Garfield and the other cats while we watched a movie, which I had to explain to Loki. Every few minutes I'd have to pause and tell him what had happened. I hope he gets used to Earth, because right now, he seems like the alien that he is.


End file.
